Slenderness Limits and Buckling Response of Bamboo Scrimber under Axial Compression

Abstract

Bamboo scrimber is a promising engineered bamboo material in the construction sector due to its favourable mechanical and aesthetic properties. Although considerable research on mechanical properties has been conducted, there is a gap in the knowledge of slenderness limits for short columns of bamboo scrimber. Slenderness limits suggested in four testing and structural design standards that are commonly used for engineered bamboo have been critically analysed and compared to identify their relative shortcomings. From these standards, Eurocode 5 proposes a better limit while the others behave conservatively. Owing to the lack of a design standard for engineered bamboo, researchers abide by standards compiled for timber/engineered timber to predict the compressive response of intermediate and long columns. In addition to showing the limitations of these studies, a rational column equation has been derived with a modified Euler load that yields reasonable accuracy with respect to two experimental studies.